'Bulletproof Asset Protection' author, a former lawyer, is sentenced

A former lawyer who wrote the book Bulletproof Asset Protection was sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday for his role in a franchise-type scheme to help people hide assets from the Internal Revenue Service.

Former lawyer William Reed pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to defraud the United States, aggravated identity theft and attempted tax evasion, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Philip Pro of Las Vegas sentenced Reed to nine years in prison, with credit for time served, and ordered him to pay more than $40 million in restitution to the government.

Prosecutors had alleged that Reed formed a Las Vegas company that sold asset-protection consultant training for about $10,000 per person, Review-Journal says. Those who completed the training helped clients who wanted to hide assets.

Reed’s company was formed in 1999, two years after his Colorado law license was suspended in 1997 for engaging in misrepresentations and dishonesty, the story says.

Reed told the court that his actions were the result of a “perfect storm of bad choices and decisions.” He said he had written two life-promoting books in prison and he hopes to help others turn their lives around when he is released.